Calking tape



` A. couTLEl-z CALKING' TAPE Sept. 25, 1945.

Filed Feb. 15; 1945 1 anni A /mo Y.

I, Milian-VIP!! lPatented sept.v 25, 194s Y l Alex vCoutlee, Kankakee, IIL, assignor to J. W. Mortell Company, a corporation of Illinois Application February 15, 1943, Serial No. 475,948 4 y mm. (crans-59) 'I'his invention relates to calking material for use in weatherproofing buildings and the like, and more particularly to a convenient way of handling the material to facilitate its use. `A

The primary object of the invention is to provide calking material in the form of a tape which through the inerts and are wetted by the binder. This dough-like material 4 is their'placedl in an extrusion cylinder 5 where pressure vmay be apmay be readily subdivided into strands of a convement size for use such as in filling up the `space between brick work and a window frame.

Another object of the inventionis to put the insulating tape in a simplel compact form that will facilitate shipping and handling and enable the user to take off conveniently the desired amount without waste.

Another obiectof the invention isl to provide.

an improved method of manufacture. whereby i,

the strands of the material inthe tape, due to the arrangement of mineral fibers in the strand, will have greaterr strength to resist longitudinal stresses than lateral stresses. Also, this arrange--r ment of the fibers reduces the tendency of the strands to stick together inthe tape and facilitate subsequent detachment.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred em- Wbodiment in t the accompanying drawing, in

whichf Figure 1A is a broken sectional view of the exv truding device showing how the strands are formed, taken-asiindicated at line l o f Figure 2;

Figure 2, an end view of the extrusion head; and Figure 3, a perspective view of a spirally wound roll of the tape ready for use. y

The c'alking material may be formed from suitable inert material, mineral flb'er and an oil binder which preferably is non-drying or semidrying. White or colored pigments may be used to give the desired color in the final product and l aluminum silicate clays may be used as inert material to act as a filler and as an extender whereby the degree of adhesiveness of the compound may be regulated to a desired point. The iinal material should be soft enough to enable it t0 be worked with a putty knife ibut it should 'be Asufficiently firm and tacky to enable it to be processed, spirally wound, and packaged without completely losing the form of strands provided by passage through the extrusion die.

A mineral fiber is used to give tensile strength to the extruded strand and preferably is strong and weatherproof. Asbestos fiber has been found to be very satisfactory.

The binder composed of oil or oils, vegetable or animal, is preferably of the non-drying or semidrying type and may be bodied 'by heating or blowing. in the usual manner, to give `the desired consistency and binding properties necessary to hold the fillers, pigments, and bers in proper relation and with the proper degree of stability.

The ingredients are mixed or kneaded into a dough-like mass in a mixer of the conventional type until the bers are thoroughly dispersed of the cylinder.

of cardboard or thelike.

plied to' force it through an extrusion die 6 to form strands 1. The extrusion head is provided with a series of orifices 8 which communicate with tapered openings 8a `leading to the inside y As'shown diagrammatically in Figure l, the fibers 9 are disposed at all angles vwhen .placed in the extrusion cylinder but the act of forcing them through the tapered openings causes the iibersto be'fdisposed in `a general longitudinal directionl evenrthoughmany of them are bent and folded intoA V-shapes. This arrangement of thevflbers causes the strands to have more ystrength against longitudinal strains than lateral lones and facilitates handling without making the` material too firm to be worked with avputty knife.

yAs the strands I leave the extrusion machine, theyare brought into juxtaposition, as shown in Figure Y3, so as to form a tape Ill which may be conveniently `spirally wound on a suitable core Il The article of manufacture, illustrated in Figure 3, may conveniently stored for long periods of timewithout drying out, and when it is desired to. use the material, a length of the tape I0 may be unwound and one -or more strands, as desired, may be pulled away from the tape to ll the desired opening. Long scraps of strands can beused so that there is practically no waste. -The factthat the fibers in the strands are generally disposed longitudinally helpsprevent the strands from becoming too firmly attached to each other or making it too diiiic'ult to unwind so much of the tape as is needed.

Although the material remains plastic, after being installed, it forms an effective permanent seal which does not become brittle in the winter or soften excessively in the summer. It may be washed without damage and may be painted, if desired.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and nounnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim:

An article of manufacture comprising a. spirally Wound roll of plastic weatherstripping tape, said tape being formed of a plurality of parallel uniformly tacky strands of inelastic putty-like insulating material, said strands being detachably held in lateral juxtaposition by adhesion, and said tape being releasably held in spiral form by adhesion of each individual strand with outer windings of the same strand whereby an end strand may be entirely detachedwithout unwindlng the companion strands. f- 

